More than 21% of North Carolina's four-year-olds enrolled in the state's pre-kindergarten programs during the 2022-2023 school year, up from the prior year but still below the state's pre-pandemic highs, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.

North Carolina ranks 29th in public pre-K enrollment, new report shows

Durham County budget increases funding for pre-K students

Compared to pre-pandemic prices, ground beef is up 35%, chips are up 45%, bread is up 57% and a 12-ounce can of soda is up 66%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks trends on common grocery store items.

WRAL Investigates: 'Greedflation' and other drivers behind inflation at the grocery store

A look at inflation at the grocery store

The Kramden Institute will partner with Lenovo and the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday to collect old computers that will be refurbished and given to Triangle students.

<b>MORRISVILLE, N.C.</b> — The Kramden Institute will partner with Lenovo and the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday to collect old computers that will be refurbished and given to Triangle students.

Volunteers will be on hand at the Lenovo building on Paramount Parkway in Morrisville from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. to collect old computers from Triangle residents. From 2 to 3 p.m., Hurricanes mascot Stormy, members of the Storm Squad and a player will be at the e-recycle drive.

Any age desktops or laptops will be accepted. Volunteers will also collect tablets, smartphones or cellphone, LCD monitors and other computer parts, including keyboards, mice, RAM, processors, motherboards, power cords, USB drives, hard drives and networking equipment. 

Before donating an old computer, experts recommend completely erasing its hard drive. Consumer Reports recommends downloading <a href="http://www.dban.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DBAN</a>.

Newer computers also have systems built in to make it easier:

<ul><li>Go to the "settings" control panel</li><li>Click "Change PC Settings"</li><li>Go to recovery</li><li>Remove everything and reinstall windows</li><li>Click "fully clean my drive"</li></ul>

Founded in 2003, Durham-based Kramden Institute has donated more than 15,000 computers to kids in 69 North Carolina counties.

Leyla Santiago

Derek Medlin

Lenovo, Carolina Hurricanes to help with e-recycle drive

Computer, laptop

The Storm Prediction Center has our southern counties under a Level 1 risk for severe storms Friday.

Level 1 severe risk Friday afternoon: Damaging winds and hail possible

Chilly mornings on the way 

Durham police are investigating a drive-by shooting Thursday night. 

Man injured in drive-by shooting on Chautauqua Ave., Durham Police investigate

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.

Iran fires air defense batteries at Isfahan air base and nuclear site after drones spotted

Iran_53492

Residents in Anderson Creek Crossing in Spring Lake, are on high alert after discovering a disturbing pattern of tampered mail.

Torn envelopes, missing money: Harnett County residents report disturbing mail tampering

Harnett County residents report disturbing mail tampering

More than 4,300 North Carolinians died from overdoses in 2022. That trend continues going up, devastating entire communities.

2022 data: 12 people a day died from drug overdoses in North Carolina 

Woman shows faces of those who died from overdoses in NC

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Get the latest WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast whenever you need it, including the DUALDoppler5000 and the 7-Day Forecast.

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Nightly N.C. Education Lottery drawings during the 11 p.m. News.

Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings are held at 3 p.m. daily. They can be seen as live or on-demand video.

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing

After 22 years in business, Armadillo Grill on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh has closed.



Glenwood South staple Armadillo Grill closes

Videos

Brandon Butterworth picked up his first hit of the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to beat No. 11 North Carolina.

NC State beats UNC with walk-off homer in game one of weekend series

NC State at UNC

The No. 15 Tar Heels have now beat No. 25 Duke in 15 consecutive games. Both teams now prepare for the ACC championship next week.

Women's Lacrosse: North Carolina pulls away in the third quarter, beats Duke

Duke vs. UNC women's lacrosse

The Coyotes are moving to Salt Lake City in a deal that was signed less than 24 hours after Wednesday night's 5-2 win over Edmonton.

Party's over: Coyotes end tenure in the desert with team's sale, move to Salt Lake City

Oilers_Coyotes_Hockey_54852

After the death of a Harnett County teenager, the softball community in Eastern North Carolina remembers her through stickers and fighting the stigma around mental health.

A North Carolina softball family is honoring one of their own, focusing on suicide prevention

Helmet stickers honoring Aubrey Horne

The Carolina Hurricanes are no stranger to playoff hockey. They're in the postseason for the sixth-straight season and are regarded as a Stanley Cup contender.

Lenovo, Carolina Hurricanes to help with e-recycle drive

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